SACRAMENTO â" A Riverside CHP officer who prevented a man from plunging off an overpass onto busy Highway 91 was honored by Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris on Thursday.

Officer Dane Norem, who continues to recover from injuries sustained in the October 2012 incident, was one of several peace officers who received medals of valor during the ceremony in the governorâs council room. The medal recognizes acts of heroism âabove and beyond the call of duty.â

âToday weâre celebrating what does work and what works is when people are heroic, unselfish, have a deep sense of duty and act on it,â Brown told the crowd. âWithout this kind of virtue, the society doesnât work.â

Norem was on patrol in October 2012 when he received a call about a possibly suicidal man climbing the La Sierra Avenue overpass fence over Highway 91 in Riverside.

As Norem pulled up in his patrol car, the man started to go over the top of the fence and swung his left leg over. Norem grabbed the manâs right leg, keeping him from falling onto the freeway 40 feet below.

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Norem held on even after the man pulled out a utility knife and started stabbing him in the face, arms and shoulder.

Two off-duty police officers stopped to help Norem. Another CHP officer showed up, and used a special non-lethal shotgun to knock the man off the fence and onto the ground, where he was arrested.

It was later determined that the man was under the influence of drugs and had âparanoid thoughtsâ about law enforcement, officials said.

Paramedics rushed Norem to the hospital, where he underwent surgery.

He has been on office duty during his recovery, and needs at least one more operation on his right eye before he can return to patrol, he said.

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âTheyâre hopefully going to get that fixed up,â Norem, 38, said after the ceremony, calling Thursdayâs recognition âa big honor.â The CHP, he added, has been very supportive.

Norem was joined by his wife, Amanda, his three children, his parents, and a longtime family friend, James Oliver.

The suspect in the attack, Javier Hernandez Rios, 46, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 17 in Superior Court in Riverside. He has pleaded not guilty to eight felony charges, including attempted murder, mayhem and assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.

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